The Hills are Alive

Did I mention that our vacation in Italy was hot? Swealtering. Don't get me wrong. I wanted the heat but we should have stayed on the coast. Or we should have gone with our original plan. Coastal Resort, lounge chairs and drinks with tiny umbrellas. I swear next spring/early summer I'm heading to the agean sea if it kills me. Blue water, sandy beaches and not much movement.

It was SO hot that on the drive from Umbria to Austria on our way out of dodge I literally passed out from the heat. I couldn't take it. The heat was just ridiculous. I'm just glad G Unit managed to power through and get us the hell out of that sauna. I actually woke up as we got out of Milan. I swear the tempature dropped at least 10 degrees as we got into the foothills.

And then we crossed over into Austria. And G Unit's blood pressure went down due to the more courteous drivers and as we got closer to Salzburg the mists rolled in. Super Awesome. Our second thunderstorm of the trip was in Salzburg. We finished our vacation with weather more like autumn than the height of summer.

We spent our 2nd anniversary in Salzburg. And G Unit made up for the fact that we missed spending our 1st Anniversary together. He took me on the Sound of Music tour. While he is a fan he knows that my sister and I spent our childhood watching the movie if not daily, weekly and acting it out, and listening to the soundtrack, a lot. So he grinned and beared the corniness that is the Sound of Music tour and took lots of photos of me trying to act nonchalant while secretly jumping up and down on the inside about where we were.

1st stop - the lake behind the von trapp house - so excited



I have confidence!!

Gazebo which has been moved from the location
near the lake and is now in a park that has special
trick water fountains - Must go back!

 

THE BUS! I'm in Marta's spot, cause that's where I belong.
Where's Gretel?

Lake Country. I shoudl be spinning with my arms wide
singing how the hills are alive, but there were too many
people around. I was scared.

The church where Maria and the Capatain
got married (in the movie) Hey it's our
anniversary. Got to kiss sometime



In the gardens. They all hit this dwarf on the
head during the do-re-mi song



G Unit - posing

FA!

End of the day - I still have confidence

And now that you have confirmed proof of what a nerd I am.....

I'm hoping we get a chance to head back to Salzburg. I would love to camp around the lakes outside the city and explore the city itself more. It's beautiful and has lots more for us to see. Did you know that Red Bull headquarters are outside the city? In the lake country. One of the lakes is called Lake Wolfgangsee. See, so much to explore. (no I don't know what red bull had to do with it, just wanted to menton.) So here's hoping. I'm sure there is still at least one landmark from the film I need to take a picture with still. Oh yes! The Abbey. I think I see a camping trip this spring.

Delay, but finally

Whew. So where was I?

Oh yeah. Italy. After making it to the coast and spending the 1st afternoon at the camp site we headed to Cinque Terre the next day to catch these 5 fishing villages we had always heard so much about. We had a bit of a problem though as in my head we were always going to hike between at least two of the villages, cause that's what you do in Cinque Terre but because G Unit was starting school we had to lug the computer around with us as there was no where to leave it securely.

So we made it to Cinque Terre and did the Via dell'Amore which is the shortest of the trails, well paved and easy. We got to Manarola went down near the water and had some lunch.

G Unit may or may not have taken this video of me well and the view too I suppose.

One of the best things in Cinque Terre was watching all the tourists. And as I noted in the video, man was there a lot of them. The best example was a family of four who walked by us as we were eating.

The teenage daughter walked by first as she texted busily on her phone (who allows their child to text internationally? i ask you) with the mother walking by next saying, "Are you ever going to get off that thing? We're in Italy!" and the younger brother walked by saying "We could throw it in the ocean" and trailing them was dad who walked by us while rolling his eyes. GENIUS! Is this what my future looks like? I don't think I'm taking kids to Europe until they can afford to pay for it themselves. They're stuck with camping and Native American museums for their summer holidays. Fisher Family Shout-out!

After lunch we headed on the train to the next village, Corniglia as the path was closed. We had a drink in Corniglia and then decided to walk the path between Corniglia and Vernazza. I did check to make sure G Unit was ok with this plan what with the computer on his back and all. I think he knew I really wanted to do it though, so maybe he didn't give his real answer. So we started off in the muggy afternoon and three hours later we made it to Vernazza.

I can't say G Unit had a nice time, but I made him take some pictures and try to appreciate the scenery. It wasn't an easy hike but it was pretty. And hey we went hiking on the Italian Coast!

That's Corniglia behind me. I don't think we were even half way

G Unit was hot and sweaty and not happy but took
a picture to commemorate the hike with me anyways.

The End! That's Vernazza behind us. Don't we look invigorated?

After wearily climbing down into the town, we hung out at the harbor just to relax. About that time the sky decided to open up and the tourists were making a massive exit for the train back to town. G Unit and I had some drinks, met some Americans and then headed to dinner. We had some seafood and gnocchi with pesto. Nothing earth shattering but a nice end to a long day. Then we headed to the train as we had to get back to town and to our campsite before they closed the gates. And I end with a the photos as we waited to get on the train.

Yep we came from WAY up there

Looking tired

And Bored

Attack

Hee-Hee. I'm so tired I'm funny

Back from Italy

A few words to sum up our Italian Camping Trip

• Hot
• Sticky
• Gorgeous
• Yummy
• Did I mention hot?

And a few words from the beginning of our trip:

The car that G Unit was complaining about? See it here in all it's glory. Dubbed Panda said in the "baby Alby" voice. I'm holding the prized Austrian Vignette which cost a total of 7.50 EUR so that we could drive across Austria without getting a ticket. 

Most countries in Europe either have toll roads (Italy, France) or Vignettes (Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic). I'm not sure which is better. A guess a set fee is better, although the Swiss only let you buy a year pass instead of a 10 day pass as the Austrians did, as the toll roads (read the Italians) we had to pay every time we got on the motorway. As American I find it weird to pay to drive on the road. Bridges? Ok. But roads....

Also a picture of our first campgrounds, Camping Maralunga, close to Cinque Terre (one of my listed Travel goals!) where we had a view of the sea and access to jump straight into the water. Or fall. Or half fall, half jump. I'm not sure what I did. For some reason I was scared of hitting the bottom. Or the rocks. Or really just making myself bloody. Besides that, it was gorgeous. Terraced with good facilities and peaceful. We often said during our trip we should have stayed on the coast where we could jump in anytime. It was HOT. Yes we came from California and yes we lived in Morocco but I think we've gotten to used to temperate (read cold) Czech Republic.

Lerici is also where we had our first thunderstorm. Our last was at the end of our trip in Austria. Camping with a thunderstorm was definitely an experience and always in the evening thankfully, but it was an experience that G Unit didn't enjoy too much. He startles easily when he's sleeping. 

More to come....